


you're my own achilles heel

by yurileclerc



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: BTW, Background Bylitza, Cooking, Domesticity, F/F, Fishing, Marriage, THEYRE MARRIEDDD, They r just so in love and happy with each other I FUCK like theyre soo important to me, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Twin AU, both byleths r in this fic theres no weirdo incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24975568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yurileclerc/pseuds/yurileclerc
Summary: Love is stored in the Byleth
Relationships: Mercedes von Martritz/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	you're my own achilles heel

**Author's Note:**

> hrhrhghrghrg i love women?

Byleth loves to linger on the pier. It’s a short walking distance from her and Mercedes’ quiet cottage, so it’s never a bother. Her wife had not accompanied her in fishing that evening as she wanted to spend the day at her orphanage - and as much as Byleth loved to spend time with children, she was far too worn out to spend the day around them. 

Their lifestyle is domestic now. The war had taken its toll on them, and though years have passed since it’s end - it will always be a part of them. It will stick with them forever - down to when the two draw their last breath. In truth, there are nights where they both are scared. They can swear they’re both on the battlefield, fighting for their lives. The comfort and trust between the two is grounding. They are all they need in those moments. While her father had always said love was healing, Mercedes had shown her. Shown her in the way she holds her - way she kisses her. 

However, Byleth is not with Mercedes. She is fishing, and her love is far from home. She studies her surroundings. The day has ended. The sun sinks into the horizon indicating the end of a long day without her wife, spent fishing by the shore. She has, of course, done other things. She spent the day tending to the plants Mercedes brought to their home, feeding the cats Mercedes’ housed from Jeritza after taking in far too many, sprinkling fertilizer on their garden full of vegetables, soon to be ripe.

(Everything centers around Mercedes now that Byleth thinks about it. In an endearing way. In a way that makes sense.)

Fishing, though taking up a majority of the day, is just the conclusion to her tasks. Mercedes loves to sit by her, watch her reel in her catches and clean the fish to both their liking. Mercedes does not like when she forgets her bucket and walks home smelling of fish and hands bleeding from the scales. Her nose scrunches in the cutest of ways, and had Byleth been starved of her doting wife’s kisses and cuddles and cute moments in general, she would’ve done that every day. However, Mercedes is never lacking in love. Never has been.

After the last fish bites, she will go home. Her wife does not like when she comes home late. She worries when it gets past dark - a fear picked up from the war. She does not say it, only sighs in relief and holds her wife when she does come through the door, game or bucket in hand. Truly, her wife is so kind. Byleth hates to worry her. 

She walks home, bucket in hand and feet wet - a byproduct of taking off her shoes and dangling her feet into the water, and knocks twice on the door before yanking it open. Her father had done that each time the two had settled in for the night. Byleth now does the same. The smell that fills her home is nearly intoxicating, and she smiles to herself. Her wife is home.

Byleth sneaks behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist with a smile. Mercedes pauses what she’s doing to look back, making sure it really is her. She giggles to herself, proceeding to stir the contents in her bowl.

“Good evening, darling. Did you have a nice day?”

Byleth nods in response, tightening her grip around her waist.

“I can smell the fish in the bucket. Did you want to have fish tonight?”

Byleth nods again, stepping away from where she’s made herself comfortable and putting the bucket on the table. Mercedes turns then, giving her wife one of her favorite smiles - not to say  _ all  _ her smiles aren’t as perfect as she is. Byleth smiles back, carefully picking a fish up from the bucket and descaling it with a tiny knife she found in the cabinet. It is barely sharper than the daggers she would use during the war. She shakes the thought from her head. The war has no place in their happy, lovely kitchen. 

An owl flies through their open window, perching on the windowsill. The owl coos in contentment, and Byleth turns to see her wife with a letter in her hand and combing her fingers through the owl’s feathers. She lifts the letter to stare at the writing, and lights up when she reads the print.

“Oh! A letter from my dear younger brother!” Mercedes coos enthusiastically. “Darling, could you fetch some seeds? For the Owl?” Byleth rummages through the cabinet, pulling out the jar of bird seed and feeding it to the owl. It rubs against her hand in thanks before taking off, and Byleth smiles to herself at the gesture. She looks over to Mercedes, watching as she turns the letter back and forth in her hand.

“Would you like to read the letter with me, beloved? I’m sure Byleth would love for you to read it alongside me!”

Byleth perks up at the mention of her twin brother. She walks to Mercedes’ side, watching as she clicks open the envelope with the letter opener. Byleth looks over her shoulder to read alongside her.

“His handwriting,” Byleth rasps, “it’s..lovely.”

“Truly!” 

Jeritza writes about his little family of cats and the missions the Emperor sends him on from time to time. Far too graphic, as usual, but Mercedes is no longer bothered by his eccentricity. He encourages them to visit soon - Byleth misses fishing with his sister, and Jeritza misses Mercedes’ sweets. Byleth must have told him to add that. When they finish reading - always at the same time, never before, never after - Mercedes sighs, holding the letter to her heart. 

“I miss him dearly,” she says with a hint of sadness, “I hope he’s well.”

Byleth nods in response, returning to cleaning the fish. Mercedes pulls down the potatoes they’ve grown in their garden, and begins to cut them. She smiles to herself, as if she’s telling herself a joke, or retelling a story. In moments like these, Byleth wonders if Mercedes would prefer a lover who spoke more, who could easily fill the silence as they cooked together. For some reason, she never complains. She never gets impatient. One day she will ask, but not today.

They spend the next hour fussing with the fish and potatoes. As the potatoes simmer and fish sizzle, Mercedes makes a small salad. They toss it together, laughing when the lettuce falls from the bowl.

When dinner finishes, they sit at the table and speak about their day. One of the children Mercedes had grown fond of was adopted by a kind noble family. Byleth caught an interesting kind of fish. The tomatoes were growing nicely. Mercedes is ready for fall - she misses wearing her small coat.

Dinner finishes, and the two wash the dishes. Not much is said like there was at dinner - just the sound of water and suds. Mercedes still does not complain, but she does rub soap on her lover’s nose. She giggles when Byleth looks down in confusion, and that makes Byleth smile.

In bed that night, Mercedes holds her to her chest. She kisses the top of her head, her cheeks, and her nose. Byleth looks up at her - her beautiful wife shines bright in the darkest of places. Mercedes looks back at her with a small smile, tucking back a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“M-Mercedes?”

Mercedes perks up, looking down at her wife with a confused expression.

“Yes, Byleth?”

Byleth looks back at her with a smile.

“I love you.”

Mercedes smiles back, tipping her head up and giving her a kiss. They smile against each other's lips, so in love and content.

“I love you too, my darling.”

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry if this was kinda lame or written weird, i tried to write it close to how i interpret byleth :-)


End file.
